NATCHEZ, Miss.–James Brown wasn’t born in and never had much to do with Mississippi, but the Magnolia State is doubling as both Georgia and South Carolina as the biopic about the “Godfather of Soul” was expected to start filming in Natchez Monday.
The movie still needs a few more extras and, according to the Miss. Film Office, has added a couple of more well-known names to the list of stars. That’s Dan Aykroyd, of “SNL”, “Ghostbusters” and “Blues Brothers” fame, and Craig Robinson, who just finished a long stint on “The Office” last year as Darryl, and who played in the mock biopic “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story”.
The movie is set to follow James Brown throughout his life and career, from his days performing at clubs and small venues, through his PCP inspired run-ins with police that made him a notorious figure in his latter years.
Parts of the movie were also set to be filmed in Jackson.
The movie, which is a medium-budget film titled “Get on Up”, was set to star Chadwick Boseman (“42”) as Brown and is directed by Miss. native Tate Taylor, who also directed the much acclaimed “The Help”, shot in Jackson and Greenwood.
